Castro on fast track to Wrigley
Tom Loxas | Oct 31, 2009 | Comments 0
Close your eyes, Cubs fans, and dream of a young Alfonso Soriano.
Not the current model, with the balky knee and untradable contract. Dream of the Soriano of a decade ago, the lithe, speedy infielder. Now open your eyes and look west to the Arizona Fall League, where 6-foot-1-inch, 160-pound Starlin Castro is prompting such comparisons — the sinewy athleticism, the leg kick, even the high socks. At 19, he’s the youngest player in the league, yet he ranks second with a .419 batting average after going 1-for-3 Thursday in Mesa’s 3-2 loss to the Peoria Javelinas.
“He has put himself on the fast track to Wrigley Field,” Oneri Fleita, the Cubs’ vice president of personnel, said by phone from Chicago.
Castro entered the 2009 season as the No. 7 prospect in the Cubs system, according to Baseball America. After what he has done this year, that ranking will skyrocket. Castro opened the season at high Class A Daytona and hit .302, third in the Florida State League. Promoted to Double-A Tennessee in August, he hit .288. He also flashed the speed to steal 28 bases in 39 attempts for the season and the bat control to strike out only 53 times in 469 trips.
“What’s not to like?” Fleita said. “To jump him right to high A to start the season, then have him make the all-star team and go 4-for-4 in the all-star game with an inside-the-park home run and then finish the season at Double A, that’s more than we could have hoped for.
“He’s big, he can play defense, he can hit and it looks like he will be able to hit for some power. I thought this year if he would hit .240 at high A, that’s great, I’d take it. For such a young guy, he has exceeded our expectations.”
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